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About Karen

chief 213x300 About Karen

Karen and Chief at the Bar H ride, 2009

April2011 EN Cover Small About KarenHi and welcome to my blog and website!  For those that don’t know me, I’m an endurance rider and live in Northern Nevada in the West region of AERC.

I am currently riding Granite Chief+/ who has 13,000  lifetime miles and has been barefoot and competing in boots (bare-booted) since the 2005 ride season.

Chief is a two time winner of the AERC National Mileage Championship.

Weaver and Rocky are both retired or semi-retired with 6300 and 7600 miles each, and I am over 32,000 miles.

237624w 240x300 About Karen

Karen and Granite Chief, Cuyama XP 2009

I am also competing on a second horse and have been for the last few ride seasons.  I really lucked out when I got Pro Bono (aka “Bo”) from Kerry Redente.  He had gotten a terrific start on multiday rides being ridden conservatively.  I completed the Tevis on Bo in 2010 and 2012 and he is over 6,000 AERC miles.  We have been enjoying the trails together and I’m really looking forward to riding both Bo and Chief in the upcoming ride season.  They make a great team!

My other interests and hobbies generally include doing things out doors with my husband and dogs.  I love endurance riding because I enjoy traveling to new places and getting to see this spectacular country of ours.  I also enjoy spending time with all of my friends, camping out, and living the adventure that this sport provides.

My blog will largely be about horses and riding with helpful and useful tips, articles, ride photos, ride reports and information on many of the rides.  If somebody has a question about something, feel free to ask by posting a comment in the blog.  I hope to see some of you at a ride in the future!  Happy Trails, Karen Chaton

Photos on this page by Lynne Glazer and Steve Bradley.

10 comments to About Karen

  • Dorothy Miller
    March 2, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    Sorry to hear about Weaver! Hopefully he and Elly are having a great time together.

  • Lori Skoog
    April 3, 2009 at 8:39 am

    I give you a lot of credit for all the miles you have logged. You and your horses are very disciplined.

  • karen w
    June 7, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    Hi Karen, I’ve been reading your blog for several months now and have found it so helpful and inspiring! I am just starting out and doing my first LDs this summer in Wa and Or- just wanted to send a big Thank You for creating such a great site and sharing all this info with us newbies! Thanks so much, Karen W.
    Taj and Dazzby send their thanks too- they are my equine “guinea pigs” :)

  • Pam Clark
    August 6, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    Hi Karen-I have really enjoyed reading your blog and learning about endurance. I really want to try it!! I tried to e-mail you to friend you on Facebook but it keeps saying “operation failed” my brother tells me I am a “luddite” or person leary or uneducated about technology-so could you friend me at my Facebook? thanks

  • cyndi rowat
    November 9, 2009 at 9:21 am

    Hi Karen – I was reading your hiline bit as my hubby and I just purchased a horse trailer so all four of us (we have two boys) can now go riding and need a solution for tying at rides. You made a comment that if your horse pulled, you wouldn’t put them on a hiline. I have a mare who pulls on occassion but thought that the hiline would be better because she would be less likely to end up in a situation where she would feel she needs to escape, due to the freedom of the unit. She does release at the pole if I ask her, by the way. THoughts?
    I too don’t like the wrecks I’ve seen occur with panels at rides and with this new trailer, I’m thinking we’ll be going away for longer journeys and further away from home. I really need a better solution than just tying to the trailer.
    Look forward to hearing from you – If you are creative enough to come up with something like hilining your hilines together, you probably have other solutions that I can’t think of.

  • kchaton
    November 9, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    Hi Cyndi – your horse may be fine on the hi-line on the ties. The best way to find out is to put her on it at home. Start with a couple of hours and work up to overnight. Then do that two or three nights before you go somewhere. I’ve had horses that pulled before that were trained to go on a trailer tie without any problems. I also think that tying to a tie or to the trailer is safer than using corral panels. I’ve seen lots of wrecks over the years in very kind of containment system there is. The best way to avoid that is to practice ahead of time at home. Good luck and safe travels! Karen

  • Tanya
    December 2, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    Hi Karen, Do you and/or the AERC travel up to Canada to ride? I’m very new to the sport and have done all my riding in the Alberta prairies and Rocky mountains. Although I enjoy reading your articles, I would be very interested to hear about any adventures that you’ve had up North, eh.
    Thanks,

  • Catherine
    March 15, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    Hi Karen,

    A friend of mine has this great company I think you would really like. She started is several years ago as a side to her main job. It is called the Organized Barn and Trailer. Here is the web site. http://www.organizedbarn.com/index.html

    I just thought it would be something you would like. You are far more organized than I am!

    I enjoy the blog and I think I will be attending your Grand Canyon XP this year if everything works out.

    Catherine

  • Kim Huck
    March 21, 2010 at 5:25 am

    Hi Karen,

    Which lightweight angle grinder is on your “wish list” after the one from Harbor Freight dies? The link didn’t show any particular grinder.

    Thanks so much.

  • Karen Chaton
    March 23, 2010 at 9:53 pm

    Hi Kim – I ended up with a grinder from Home Depot in the $50 range that has been working really well.